Tire-cover.



UTED STATES PATENT orrron.

TIRE-COVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application filed April 3, 1905. Serial No. 253,513.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEAN CLAUDE DUFOUR, a citizen of the FrenchRepublic, residing at 14 Rue de la Cerisaie, Charenton, Department de laSeine, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inProtective and Antiskidding Tire-Covers for the Vheels ofAutomobile-Carriages or other Vehicles, of which the following is aspecification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The objects of the present invention are, first, to make the pneumatictire more durable;

secondly, to prevent wearing of the outer" cover; thirdly, to produce animpermeable and antiskidding pneumatic tire; fourthly, to make the tiresupple, and, finally, to eiiect various improvements, as will be seen inthe description.

. Referring to the drawings which form a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a section and perspective View of part of the protective andantiskidding cover, having a tread provided with rivets or studs andrivet sleeves or rings surrounding the studs. Fig. 2 shows a portion ofthe interior of the protectingband. Fig. 3 represents a section of therivet-sleeve, showing the conical bore of the said sleeve and the rivet.

The pneumatic tire is composed of an outer band or tread 1, made ofleather, the edges 2 of which are folded inward and joined, so that adouble tread-band is formed. This folded tread-band is placed on aleather cover 3, which completely surrounds the air-tube. This coverrests on a leather crescent-shaped layer 4:, composed of two parts withfree space or gap 5 between them, forming an annular chamber or passageintended to make the pneumatic cover supple and to enable the center rowof studs on the tread when pressed to sink into the cover withoutcutting it. The crescentshaped layer 4 is placed over another similarlayer 6, which is continuous that is to say, without any empty space orgap. These different leather parts joined together in suitable mannerare fixed over the air-tube in the manner already known.

To make the pneumatic tire more durable, to prevent wearing of the outercover, and to produce an unpuncturable and non-skidding pneumatic tire,the tread 1 has a variable number (preferably three rows) of studs orrivets 7. These studs or rivets are of special construction, as nowabout to be described. They are composed, first, of a rivet 7 secondly,of

a sleeve 7 which surrounds the rivet, and, thirdly, of an interiorwasher or ring 9. The rivet 7 and the rivet-shank may be of any form andsize. The sleeve 7", forming an antiskid, is about sixteen millimetersin diameter. It is five millimeters thick and, what is important, has acentral conical bore 7, Fig. 3, so that when the rivet 7 is clenched thebore 7 is completely filled, whereby the plate 7 can become worn withoutbeing able to separate from the rivet.

The fixing of the rivets may be effected in any suitable manner, byriveting, &c.; but experience has shown that'the rivets, either throughwear or through the strain caused by skidding, cutthe leather of thecover, which is a serious disadvantage at the present time. In order toobviate this disadvantage, the invention provides improvements whichconsist in, first, an intermediate leather band 8, which is adhesivelyattached to the interior of the leather cover 3 over the whole length,so as to form a strengthening-band, and, secondly, a washer 9, made ofparchment, leather, cardboard, metal, or any other suitable materialplaced between the intermediate band 8 and the rivet-shank 7 andintended in the case of strain through skidding to prevent the rivetfrom cutting the leather of the cover. This piece 9 is here representedin the form of a washer; but it may also be in the form of a band ofleather, cardboard, metal, or any other suitable material without theprinciple of the invention being changed.

It is evident that thus in accordance with the ideas of the inventionlissome impermeable pneumatic tires may be constructed spe ciallysuitable, for example, for the front wheels of automobile-carriages.These pneumatic tires differ from those previously described in nothaving any separate tread-band, studs 7, or rivets, but only the annularchamber 5, which imparts suppleness and prevents heating;

Having now described'my invention, What I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In protective and non-skidding tire-covers for the wheels ofautomobile-carriages or other vehicles the combination of a double treadplaced exteriorly on a leather cover consisting in an intermediateleather band and rivets on the tread-band to produce an unpuncturableand non-skidding pneumatic tire, said studs composed of a rivet, asleeve surrounding the rivet and having a central conical bore, so thatwhen the rivet is clenched the bore is completely filled; means forpreventing the leather of the cover to be cut by the rivets, said meansconsisting in an intermediate leather band adhesively attached to theinterior of the leather cover over the whole length, so as to form astrengthening-band and in Washers made of parchment 8:0. placed betweenthe intermediate band above named 1 and the rivet-shank; aleathercrescent-shaped layer composed of two parts provided with a free spacebetween them forming an annular chamber or passage intended to make thepneumatic cover supple and to enable the cen- 3 ter row of studs on thetread, when pressed, to sink into the-cover without cutting it; anothersimilar continuous layer placed between the above-named crescent-shapedlayer and the pneumatic tire.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

JEAN CLAUDE DUFOUR.

Witnesses:

HENRI Boner, HANSON O. COKE.

